Industrial Metals Update Subdued demand to weigh on copper The price of copper has already fallen back sharply but we think this is more about heightened geopolitical risk than fundamentals. The price may revive in the near term if risks start to fade, but... 3rd April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Chart Pack Oil rises, despite trade woes Commodity prices drifted down in March, despite a relatively stable US dollar. However, given the slump in developed market equities, commodity prices held up relatively well. This was largely due to... 3rd April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update Heavy industry unlikely to lift China’s PMI for long China’s unofficial and official manufacturing PMIs diverged again in March. The easing of pollution controls on heavy industry gave a boost to the official index, but slower growth elsewhere weighed... 3rd April 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Watch Taking stock of the first quarter In this Commodities Watch, we review developments in the first quarter of this year and draw conclusions about what they mean for our price forecasts. 29th March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Data Response Global Steel Production (Feb.) World Steel Association (WSA) data showed a 3.5% y/y increase in global steel production in February led by higher output in China, India and Brazil. US production also edged higher and we expect it... 26th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs unsettle investors The US was the focus of markets this week. The Fed hiked its target rate by 25bp on Wednesday to 1.50%-1.75% but this had been widely anticipated and there was little reaction in commodity markets. In... 23rd March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Zinc’s rally looks rusty Robust demand and constrained supply have pushed the price of zinc higher over the past year. But fundamentals have deteriorated sharply in recent months and point to substantially lower prices ahead. 22nd March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly All quiet on the commodities front There were few large moves in commodity prices this week. China’s activity data for the first two months of the year, published on Wednesday, were reasonably strong but failed to give a material lift... 16th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Update US tariffs unnerve metals markets Commodity prices have rebounded, after slumping in the wake of the global equity sell-off in late January, although they have dipped a bit lately, despite dollar weakness. The agriculture index has... 14th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Rising copper stocks point to subdued demand There have been some big jumps in stocks of copper, aluminium and zinc since the start of 2018, but inventories of the other base metals have fallen slightly. Given that we expect demand to soften... 14th March 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Rising trade deficit may embolden the protectionists Following the move this week to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, the widening in the trade deficit to a nine-year high in January is likely to have bolstered President Donald Trump’s... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Commodities Weekly Trump’s tariffs become reality The big news this week was confirmation of President Trump’s tariffs on US steel and aluminium imports on national security grounds. This sent US steel prices even higher, but weighed on prices in... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update What do US tariffs mean for steel & aluminium? President Trump’s tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium are likely to be a bigger deal for the price of US steel than aluminium. But US steel prices have already surged, which coupled with higher... 9th March 2018 · 1 min read
Industrial Metals Update Lead to remain under pressure Dwindling mine supply and, more recently, strong winter demand for car replacement batteries have given a boost to the price of lead. However, demand is weakening which, coupled with increasing... 8th March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Chart Pack A mixed month for metals The prices of metals diverged last month. The prospect of a blanket tariff on US imports led to a jump in the price of US steel. At the same time, concerns about demand, notably from China, weighed on... 7th March 2018 · 1 min read
Metals Watch Nickel: no shortage in sight Strong growth in China’s stainless steel output and supply disruptions have buoyed nickel prices so far this year. In this Metals Watch, we take a look at the most recent developments in both demand... 6th March 2018 · 1 min read
